Hours after Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the 195-nation agreement to fight global climate change, protesters swarmed the gates of the White House to voice their opposition.
Activists showed up carrying posters reading, “Shame” and “Science is not an alternative fact.” One person even showed up in a polar bear outfit, as CNN’s David Wright captured in a tweet.
Shoutout to the guy in the full body polar bear suit at the White House climate protest. It’s 82 degrees. pic.twitter.com/Onrq56BkJf
— David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) June 1, 2017
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But one sign, in particular, will likely be hard to top, playing on Trump’s incoherent midnight tweet from earlier in the week.
Picture:
Sign at the White House protest today #ParisAgreement #ClimateChange pic.twitter.com/zHJR977FJW
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) June 1, 2017
Also standing with the activists was DNC Chair Tom Perez, who said earlier that Trump’s decision to walk away from the landmark climate accord was “an insult to humanity.”
.@TomPerez speaking out against @POTUS in front of @WhiteHouse about pulling out of #ParisAgreement pic.twitter.com/ykfP8WeOiC
— Tim Barber (@ABC7TimBarber) June 1, 2017
The response to the president’s stunning decision wasn’t just felt in Washington, though. All across the globe, a throng of leaders, organizations and activists spoke out against the move, calling it not just a blow to American credibility abroad but a betrayal of future generations.
As one employee from the environmental nonprofit Sierra Club told PoliticusUSA on Thursday, “Our children and grandchildren will look back on this decision stunned that one world leader could be so divorced from reality and morality.”
“Trump is burying his head in the sands while the seas are rising,” they added.
In a statement, the organization called Trump’s move today “one of the most ignorant and dangerous” acts of any president.
But it wasn’t just green activists up in arms about the president’s move. Even Wall Street was fuming on Thursday.
A tweet posted a short time ago by Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein ripped Trump’s decision.
Today’s decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.’s leadership position in the world. #ParisAgreement
— Lloyd Blankfein (@lloydblankfein) June 1, 2017
From environmental activists on the left to Wall Street executives on the right, there appears to finally be a consensus building around one simple idea: Climate change is happening, its impacts are devastating, and the world needs to act before it’s too late.
Unfortunately, the most powerful man in the world doesn’t agree.
To justify his decision today, Trump said the U.S. does not “want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore.”
The president need not worry – no one is laughing today.
Picture: Twitter
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.